Career and Education Opportunities for Petroleum Refinery Workers in Bellevue, Washington

Petroleum refinery workers can find many career and educational opportunities in the Bellevue, Washington area. There are currently 810 jobs for petroleum refinery workers in Washington and this is projected to grow 6% to about 860 jobs by 2016. This is better than the national trend for petroleum refinery workers, which sees this job pool shrinking by about 15.2% over the next eight years. Petroleum refinery workers generally control the operation of petroleum refining or processing units.

Petroleum refinery workers earn approximately $28 hourly or $60,160 annually on average in Washington. Nationally they average about $26 hourly or $55,010 yearly. Earnings for petroleum refinery workers are better than earnings in the general category of Chemical and Gas in Washington and better than general Chemical and Gas category earnings nationally.

There are sixty-four schools of higher education in the Bellevue area, including one within twenty-five miles of Bellevue where you can get a degree to start your career as a petroleum refinery worker. Petroleum refinery workers usually hold a high school diploma or GED, so it will take only a short time to learn to be a petroleum refinery worker if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Petroleum Refinery Worker

Petroleum Refinery Worker video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, petroleum refinery workers control the operation of petroleum refining or processing units. They also may specialize in controlling manifold and pumping systems, gauging or testing oil in storage tanks, or regulating the flow of oil into pipelines.

Petroleum refinery workers signal other staff by telephone or radio to operate pumps, open and close valves, and check temperatures. They also verify that incoming and outgoing products are moving through the correct meters, and that meters are working properly. Equally important, petroleum refinery workers have to maintain and repair equipment, or report malfunctioning apparatus to supervisors so that repairs can be scheduled. They are often called upon to start pumps and open valves or use automated apparatus to regulate the flow of oil in pipelines and into and out of tanks. They are expected to formulate movement of products through lines to processing and shipping units, utilizing knowledge of system interconnections and capacities. Finally, petroleum refinery workers record and compile operating data and results of laboratory analyses.

Every day, petroleum refinery workers are expected to be able to imediately see the relationships between collections of numbers, images, and patterns. They need to evaluate problems as they arise.

It is important for petroleum refinery workers to patrol units to track the amount of oil in storage tanks, and to confirm that efforts and operations are safe and in adherence to regulations. They are often called upon to operate auxiliary equipment and control multiple processing units during distilling or treating operations, moving controls that regulate valves and auxiliary equipment. They also operate control panels to schedule and regulate process variables such as temperature and pressure, and to direct product flow rate, in line with process schedules. They are sometimes expected to control or operate manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery. Somewhat less frequently, petroleum refinery workers are also expected to control or operate manifold and pumping systems to circulate liquids through a petroleum refinery.

They also have to be able to collect product samples by turning bleeder valves, or by lowering containers into tanks to obtain oil samples and lower thermometers into tanks to obtain temperature readings. And finally, they sometimes have to direct shutdowns and major projects.

Like many other jobs, petroleum refinery workers must be reliable and be thorough and dependable.

Sewage Treatment Plant Operator. Operate or control an entire process or system of machines, often through the use of control boards, to transfer or treat water or liquid waste.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Petroleum Refinery Worker Training

Bates Technical College - Tacoma, WA

Bates Technical College, 1101 S Yakima Ave, Tacoma, WA 98405. Bates Technical College is a medium sized college located in Tacoma, Washington. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 2,807 students. Bates Technical College has a less than one year program in Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians, Other Specialties which graduated fifty-six students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

API 510 Pressure Vessels Inspector Certification:
The American Petroleum Institute (API) initiated a Pressure Vessel Inspector Certification Program to improve management control of process unit operation, repair, and maintenance; reduce the potential for inspection delays resulting from regulatory requirements; and provide a continued high level of safety.

API 570 Piping Inspector Certification :
The American Petroleum Institute (API) initiated the Piping Inspector Certification Program (PICP) to provide a continued high level of safety through the use of inspectors specialized in process piping; to improve management control of process unit inspection, repair, alteration and rerating; and to reduce the potential for.

Standard Journeyman Mechanical:
The International Code Council's National Contractor Trades Examination Program is an independent testing program designed to provide licensing agencies with information regarding.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Bellevue, Washington

Bellevue, Washington photo by Jelson25

Bellevue is located in King County, Washington. It has a population of over 123,771, which has grown by 13.0% in the past ten years. The cost of living index in Bellevue, 128, is far greater than the national average. New single-family homes in Bellevue are valued at $475,200 on average, which is far greater than the state average. In 2008, one hundred thirteen new homes were built in Bellevue, down from one hundred sixty-five the previous year.

The top three industries for women in Bellevue are health care, professional, scientific, and technical services, and educational services. For men, it is professional, scientific, and technical services, transportation equipment, and construction. The average commute to work is about 22 minutes. More than 54.1% of Bellevue residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 19.4%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Bellevue is 7.2%, which is less than Washington's average of 8.7%.

The percentage of Bellevue residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 37.3%, is less than the national average but more than the state average. The most prominent religious groups are the Catholic Church, the LDS (Mormon) Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Bellevue is home to the Sunset Plaza and the Eastgate Plaza as well as Killarney Glen Park and Coal Creek Park. Shopping malls in the area include Hillfair Shopping Center, Lake Hills Shopping Center and Crossroads Shopping Center. Visitors to Bellevue can choose from Bedynamic Inc, Fairfield Inn Seattle-Bellevue and Bellevue Travelodge for temporary stays in the area.